Control valves are utilized for numerous purposes. Valves for controlling the passage therethrough of fluids, such as, for example, liquids or gases, are structured in accordance with the operating function to be performed by such valves. These functions can range from the control of water in a water faucet to the control of pneumatic and hydraulic flow for the operation of mechanical devices.
Previously developed control valves have included solenoid operated valves which have proved to be reliable; however, such valves are large in size and weight. Additionally, such valves are expensive and costly to maintain and operate. Piezoelectric control valves have been used as a substitute for solenoid operated valves thereby eliminating the weight and size associated with such solenoid operated valves. One such piezoelectric control valve is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,465,732 issued to Kattchee on Sept. 9, 1969 and entitled "Piezoelectric Control Valve". Such previously developed piezoelectric control valves have required extensive associated components resulting in a complicated valve arrangement requiring several moving parts resulting in increased costs and poor reliability.
A need has thus arisen for a piezoelectric control valve including a piezoelectric valve operator that is simple in construction to improve the reliability and manufacturing costs involved in such control valves. Furthermore, a need has arisen for a piezoelectric control valve that is lightweight and compact in size to enable such a control valve to have sufficient versatility to be utilized in a broad range of applications.